Pages

Saturday, 16 July 2016

Tomorrow marks the eightieth anniversary of the start of the Spanish Civil War.

I first became interested in this conflict when I went on a package holiday with my family to Spain in the mid 1960s. General Franco was still very much in charge, and units of the Spanish Army patrolled the beach near our hotel every evening.

Hugh Thomas's book THE SPANISH CIVIL WAR (which had been published in 1961) was my starting point, and from then until the mid 1980s I did as much research as my limited time and resources allowed. I finally turned everything that I had found into a book aimed at wargamers, and the first edition of LA ULTIMA CRUZADA! (THE LAST CRUSADE) was published by Partizan Press in 1989. A heavily revised second edition was published in 1993.

To mark this anniversary I have decided to publish a daily account of the events of the Spanish Civil War, using the text of the chronology I included in my book as the basis of these extra blog entries.

Back in the early 1990s my book was quite popular amongst wargamers who were interested in the Spanish Civil War ... so much so that other people copied great chunks of it and tried to pass my work of as their own. In one case I confronted the plagiarist at a wargames show, and he quite literally turned and ran away! (I might have had my 'killing face' on at the time, which might account for his reaction.)

If you ever want any information about the SCW, ask and I'll see what I can do to help.

Pages

The First Rule of Wargaming and the Spirit of the Wargame

The First Rule:

‘Nothing can be done contrary to what could or would be done in actual war.'

- From 'The Rules of the Naval War Game' by Fred T Jane

The Spirit of the Wargame:

‘Wargames are played, for the most part, without the supervision of an umpire. The game relies on the integrity of the individual players to show consideration for other players and to abide by the rules. All players should conduct themselves in a disciplined manner, demonstrating courtesy and sportsmanship at all times, irrespective of how competitive they may be. This is the spirit of the wargame.’

- Adapted from 'The Spirit of the Game' in 'The Rules of Golf' as published by the R&A Ltd.

About Me

I have been wargaming for as long as I can remember. One of the first toys that I was bought was a wooden fort that was garrisoned by assorted lead soldiers ... and I have never looked back!
The first wargames book I bought was CHARGE! (although I had taken out [and repeatedly read] Donald Featherstone's WAR GAMES book beforehand [and many thanks to John Curry for republishing it!]).
My first 20mm figures were the good old Airfix Guards Infantry and Band (in shocking pink!), soon followed by others as they were released, and by 1968, when I bought my first metal Hinton Hunt 20mm figures, I had a large collection of World War II figures, tanks, guns, and aircraft.
I was a founder member of WARGAME DEVELOPMENTS and have been the treasurer and membership secretary ever since. I have also organised – along with Tim Gow - the annual conference (COW – Conference of Wargamers) for the past ten years.
My main interests are wargaming any wars from 1850 onwards, although I have a special interest in Colonial, the Spanish Civil War, and World War II wargaming.
I also have a special interest in wargames that use square or hex grids for movement and weapon ranges.